The Infirmary
by Kame-sama
Summary: This story is set between Mongolia and the burial of Allan Quatermain in Kenya. It focuses around Rodney Skinner and his recovery.
1. Recovery

This story is set between Mongolia and the burial of Allan Quartermain in Kenya. It focuses around Rodney Skinner and his recovery (because he was well enough by the time they arrived in Kenya). I'm forcing myself to write a small story because I'm infamous for starting things and not finishing them. Hope you enjoy it and please leave some reviews!   
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen characters. They belong to their respective owners.

* * *

The Infirmary  


  
  
Skinner lay in bed. He stared up towards the ceiling of the infirmary. He had been there for a total of 3 days so far. He was wrapped from head to toe in bandages. He didn't look so much like an invisible man as so much a badly injured man.  
  
It would be another twenty minutes before the doctor came and checked up on and would determine if his bandages needed changing. Having his bandages changed hurt almost as much as when he was initially burned. His wounds oozed and that stuck to the bandages. He did not look forward to having his bandages changed. Maybe the Doctor wouldn't have to do it just yet? More like wishful thinking.  
  
The doctor was always concerned about infection. He had to keep the infection away, for Skinner to make a good recovery. A good recovery meant that he would be able to accompany the rest of the league when Allan Quartermain was laid to rest.  
  
Why couldn't have he been a selfish bastard and high tailed it with his life and skin intact? No, he had to be the hero, for once and save the life of Tom Sawyer. Not that he really regretted it. Besides the Doctor, the boy had been in the most times to visit him. Good bloke he was, sneaking him in some brandy. Surely the Doctor would have not approved of his brandy consumption while he was infirmed.  
  
Pain returned to the right side of his body. He let out a small mutter and curse. To think just a few days ago when he was initially brought back aboard the Nautilus, he had been shrieking with all the pain that was coursing through his body. He felt relieved when he thought about passing out after he had told Sawyer to go after M. Passing out saved him from the agony that the burns caused him. Thank goodness for small favors.  
  
He stared back up towards the ceiling. It seems that over the past three days he had memorized the ceiling. All the little nuances, cracks, and discolorations he could point out individually. When one's wrapped head to toe in bandages, it doesn't let one do a whole lot of moving. All he had was the Doctor, the company that visited from time to time and his own mind.  
  
His mind is what seemed to fill most of his time, more so than the infrequent visitors, save the doctor. The Doctor wasn't really a conversationalist but for the obligatory medical questions. Now, he was smarter than most people gave him credit for. Just because he had his low class cockney accent and sometimes crass manners didn't mean he was some ill bred oaf. Well, maybe ill bred, but at least he wasn't an oaf. It wasn't without a great deal of smarts that one became a master gentleman thief.  
  
The first day he didn't really have much time to think. He was just mostly in pain. That tends to dispel most everything from your mind. When he wasn't in pain, the doctor had just given him some anesthesia and that dulled the pain with all his other senses. Being doped up just isn't conducive to clear thinking.  
  
Only ten more minutes till the doctor came back. He figured he could ask for some more morphine for his pain. Pain was definitely creeping back into his right side with a vengeance. He had to close his eyes for a moment and wince. Another mutter and curse escaped his lips. And the worse was only yet to come. He had a sinking feeling that the Doctor would want to change his bandages.  
  
He had to be well enough in nine more days. The captain had said that it would take twelve to make that journey from Mongolia to Kenya. He had to be well enough to give a proper send off to old Allan Quartermain. Currently, the former great white hunter resided in the deep freeze. The location was bit undignified for such a figure such as Allan. Such steps had to be taken for the preservation of his body for his burial in Africa. What would have become of me if I had been the one to make the ultimate sacrifice?  
  
Skinner snorted when thinking about that scenario. There was that slim chance that the League would have given a proper burial also, if he had died a hero, going out in a flame of glory. HA! That's funny, a flame of glory. Maybe they would have laid him to rest in his native England, just as they were doing with Quartermain, returning him to his land. The captain would be solemn faced wishing him a good send off and best of luck in his next life. Maybe the old bloke Skinner would return as a rat for all the karma he'd accumulated over the years. Heh, heh. Tom Sawyer would be giving him a proper salute for one who gave his life for his own. Yeah, he'd make such a gesture as maybe even leaving his gun behind to commemorate his noble sacrifice. Lets see, the Doctor would be a gentleman such befitting his background and say a few words. Oh, how I misjudged the poor man. He'd bow and look somber. Flowers would be nice too. Mina would be wearing something revealing, like a low cut blouse with her bosoms practically spilling out. She'd be going on how she had secretly loved Mr. Skinner but never had the courage to tell him that when he was alive. Her weeping would carry on for hours. Oh, and mustn't' forget Quartermain. If Skinner was dead, then surely he must be alive. Allan Quartermain would be treating him well, for once. Yes, he'd have a toast in honor of his departed League member. To Rodney Skinner, who really put the gentleman in gentleman thief. His honor, valor, courage will live on in legend.  
  
"Excuse me Mr. Skinner, but I must attend to your wounds", Doctor Jekyll said politely after clearing his throat a few times.  
  
Skinner blinked. How long had he been standing there, waiting for him to come out of his own little imaginings? He hadn't even heard the Doctor enter the room. I guess he had been too caught up in his own little dreams to even notice that there was someone else there. 


	2. Bandages

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen characters. They belong to their respective owners.  
  
Author's Notes: Please be nice and leave me some kind of feedback in the form of a review.

* * *

The Infirmary  
  
Doctor Jekyll continued to look at Skinner. He was going to politely wait till the injured man fully came back to reality. The bandaged man let out a small smile that was partially seen, because of the bandages wrapped around his face. The Doctor put a large black medical bag upon the counter and took an examination seat near the bed where Skinner laid.  
  
"Well, Mr. Skinner, I believe it is time for your hourly checkup on your wounds. The last two times I visited, your bandages were not in need of a change. This time however, they probably will need a change. I know how this is painful, so I wanted to prepare you. I brought more morphine for an injection to deaden the pain", the Doctor said. Doctor Jekyll stood up and went to the counter where the black medical bag was.  
  
"Oh, come on doc' do you really have to change me' bandages? I mean, they were fine the last two times. Why don't you check the wounds over and see if I can get away with another hour? Be a good sport", Skinner looked into Doctor Jekyll's eyes trying to plead his case.  
  
The Doctor's medical instincts won out over Skinner's pitiful glances but he would check the wounds just to show Mr. Skinner that they really needed to be changed. "Alright Mr. Skinner, I shall check your wounds just to show you the necessity of the bandages being changed. It is of my medical opinion that they need to be changed at this time though", Doctor Jekyll said as he walked towards the figure of the injured man.  
  
Skinner grimaced and closed his eyes at the thought of the Doctor opening and pulling at the bandages which stuck to his stingingly painful burns. Lot of good that did though, considering that his eyelids were also invisible. One of the bad points of being an invisible man, you can never close your eyes when you need to not see something.  
  
The Doctor pulled at the bandage tie that was on this right shoulder. The tie itself came out easy enough, but now was the matter of gently separating the cotton gauze from the wound. Doctor Jekyll pulled back slowly his left hand and the right hand held an uninjured area of Mr. Skinner's shoulder. He heard the bandaged man suck in a breath of air from the pain that the pulling away of the gauze caused him. Mr. Skinner let out his breath after it was temporarily over. The Doctor examined first the discarded piece of gauze then the burn itself. The gauze was covered with blood and excreta from the burn. On the exposed part of the shoulder, it was still heavily discolored with oozing from the burn. It was a far cry from the healthy invisible flesh that it normally was. He knew in his mind that such an injury took weeks to completely heal from. It was amazing that he initially survived with the extensive burns because of the great risk of infection. So far, Mr. Skinner had not become stricken with a potentially fatal infection. The Doctor would have liked to have thought that his diligent efforts so far had kept it at bay.  
  
"Just as I thought Mr. Skinner, these bandages will have to be removed and fresh ones administered at once. On a positive note, you seem to be healing very well and hopefully well enough to attend Mr. Quatermain's funeral. Before I begin taking off the rest of the bandages, would you like a dose of morphine for the pain?", the Doctor asked Skinner as he was started to open his medical bag.  
  
Skinner thought about the morphine. It would muffle all his senses so that when the all the components of the medical procedure was being done, he wouldn't be wishing he had died. Sure, it still hurt like hell, but at least he'd be more out of it. "I had been thinking about having some morphine since about half an hour ago. The pain in my right side had been shooting up again. You know, it's almost unbearable having to sit in this place all day by myself with the amount of pain I'm in", Skinner said as the Doctor filled the syringe with morphine.  
  
Doctor Jekyll inserted the syringe into the bandaged arm. As the morphine was going into the patient, he couldn't help think about the last comment Mr. Skinner had made. He got the feeling that the pain was bad enough, but being alone was what was eating his patient. Mr. Skinner was rather covert in the ways he expressed himself. He didn't come out and say he would like company or some way to pass the time while he was alone in the infirmary. No, the invisible man would try to do things in a roundabout way, where he wouldn't seem overly needy, even in his time of crisis. A bit of ego involved. The Doctor glanced over at his patient and found that he already seemed more calm and in less pain.  
  
"First, I have to take all the old bandages off, so just stay with me", the Doctor said as he began his procedure.  
  
"Hard not to 'stay with you' because even with this lovely stuff, I'll still be wracked with pain", Skinner replied trying to brace himself for the removal of the gauze.

* * *

Skinner looked up at the ceiling. He could see the little lines, discolorations, and patterns all dancing before him. He breathed deeply trying to catch his breath.  
  
"I'll give you a few moments before I start to apply the antiseptic. I know this is difficult for you", the Doctor said as he disposed of the soiled bandages.  
  
Doctor Jekyll went over to his medical bag again and produced a dark tincture bottle of the antiseptic and the proper swabs with which to apply it. He glanced over to see how his patient was faring. Mr. Skinner was still staring upwards towards the ceiling. "I need to get some more swabs from the medical supply room, I shall return in a few moments", the Doctor said as he made his exit.  
  
The Doctor made that excuse just so Skinner could have a few more moments to recover sufficiently enough. The steps involved with caring for his burns were getting less painful with each step. Skinner kept going over in his mind about how this was going to be significantly less painful than what he had just gone through. The Doctor cleared his throat, signaling that he was back.  
  
"Can I start applying the antiseptic now?", the Doctor asked.  
  
"Now is as good time as any", was the invisible man's reply.  
  
The antiseptic stung for sure, but it was much preferable over what had just gone on earlier. The opiate numbed his senses but only to a certain point. He could feel the stinging sharp bites that accosted his burns and smell the acrid scent drifted toward his nose. After a few minutes, Skinner broke the silence.  
  
"Oh doc', I can't wait till I'm in a bit better shape. I want these damn torture sessions to cease. But for a doc', you're alright I guess. Never did much like docs' when I was younger. My mum went to see one once, and she never returned. Do you mind if I were to call you 'enry?", Skinner said slightly slurred from the opiate.  
  
The Doctor froze in his application of the medicine. Not one of the other members of the league had asked to call him by his Christian name. Now, of all people, the injured thief asked to do that. He considered it for a moment. "Yes, I suppose you may call me Henry", Doctor Jekyll answered with a smile then resumed his application of the medicine.  
  
"Good, good. We're mates know, you know. Been through battles of life and death, we 'ave. You can call me Rodney if you like, since I'm calling you 'enry", the patient said between breaths.  
  
The Doctor looked at his patient while still applying the antiseptic, "Yes, I'd like that. Thank you, Mr. Skinner....Rodney".  
  
The Doctor was almost done with the application of the medicine when Mr. Skinner spoke up again, "What did you think when you had first heard that I had saved young Sawyer from being killed?"  
  
Doctor Jekyll didn't look up but answered, "I thought that you had done a great act of courage, considering that you were not protected from the flames in anyway. You frankly surprised me. I had thought you to be a selfish and self centered man. I believe that you have more character than I initially judged".  
  
"Yes, you didn't think much about at first did ya 'enry. I was in the room when you said, 'You've seen the way the sneaky blackguard operates'. I felt the malice in your voice, although, I really up to that time given you a good reason to trust me. I was an uncommon gentleman thief, but a thief when it still came down to my profession. How could ya really trust me? I was there the whole time when the league had set their judgment that I was the traitor", Skinner said slightly slurred.  
  
The confident professional guise of the Doctor faded back to the uneasy nervous man that the rest of the league was used to. He stopped in mid stroke and let the swab hang in his hand. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he heard deep monstrous laughing.  
  
_"You should tell your patient how you wanted to do nothing more but kill him at that moment. You wanted to wring his neck with YOUR bare hands, not mine. Oh no, you can't blame this one on me. The good doctor has a dark side, and it's not just me", Edward Hyde bellowed in Doctor Jekyll's mind._  
  
"I would have never done that. I could never do that. I'm a good man", the Doctor mumbled to himself.  
  
Skinner knew who that response was for. The Doctor was having an internal conversation. "Ah Doctor, could we finish this. I want to rest soon", Skinner said with the Doctor snapping to attention and again putting on his protective coat of medical professionalism.

* * *

The inner bandages were in place and the outer layer was being put on. The morphine was wearing off again, so Skinner was thankful that the most painful parts were over. He glanced over at the Doctor. The Doctor was still wearing his neutral expression since when he had momentarily slipped back into the nervous uneasiness. "You know 'enry, I don't blame ya. If I was in your position, I probably would have reacted the same way. I can still call ya 'enry, ight?", Skinner said.  
  
The Doctor stopped and swallowed. "Yes....yes, you still may call me Henry", the Doctor let out a nervous reply.  
  
"Yeah, and you can still call me Rodney. But it's funny because almost no one calls me that. Even my old mates back on my street where I grew up called me Skinner. Funny, eh? Seems like I came into this world where no one called me by my first name. I suppose it could 'ave been worse. All the kids could 'ave teased me with some god awful name like Rodney the Rat", Skinner said slightly grinning.  
  
A smirk crept its way onto the Doctor's face. The uneasiness was defused. The Doctor continued to finish bandaging the injured man. 


	3. Medicine

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen characters. They belong to their respective owners.

Author's Notes: Please be nice and leave me some kind of feedback in the form of a review.

Author's Comments about the Comments:

Keyanna: Thank you for a good comprehensive review about the goods and bads of my fic so far. I'm really not a writer, but I do try. I'm really an artist who does appreciate the comments you've been leaving. I know when I do art, I hate comments like "hey, cool stuff". They might be ego boosters but they never help the content of what I produce.

Monnie: I bet I sure surprised you when I actually produced a fic that IS going to be completed sometime within a decade.

Funyun: Thank you for your enthusiasm about my story. This story came to me when I realized that there really weren't any stories dealing with the direct aftermath of what had happened after Mongolia. More than that, I felt that Mr. Skinner should have a story dealing with him and what happened during his recovery.

Clez: I hold you and your comments in very high regard because you are to me one of the great LXG writers that are here at I didn't correct my initial mistakes of my first chapter dealing with the spelling of Mr. Quatermain's name. I did although catch myself with this and corrected the subsequent chapter(s) even before you left the comment. The bit with the imaginary funeral is my favourite part of chapter 1 too. :D hugz Clezzard

Lady Norbert: Glad you like it so far. And see, I updated!

Drakena Destroyer: Glad you like the interchange between Rodney and Henry. My favourite types of fic are those that deal with missing scenes. It helps build on what's already established.

The Infirmary

The thief had slept as well as can be expected. He had only woken up twice the previous night. His right shoulder was still hurting him terribly but he had been able to sleep though most of the night without having to wake the Doctor. Ever since the incident in Mongolia, the Doctor had taken up temporary residence in the infirmary. He had many patients to attend to including some of the German refugees that were rescued. Every now and then he'd hear the hushed murmuring in a thick tongue he didn't understand from some of the children who'd sneak in to see the invisible man they'd heard about. Of course, they were often disappointed because all they saw was a figure clad in layers of bandages. In a way, he wanted the children to come up to him and talk to him, even if he couldn't understand them. Just to have some interaction besides the usual bedside conversation of the Doctor.

It had been some period of time since any of the League members had visited, since he had initially come into the care of the Doctor. It was now his seventh day since the events of Mongolia had happened. The Captain had the most valid excuse with having to attend to his duties on the ship. Mrs. Harker and young Tom Sawyer on the other hand, had plenty of time to come see him. Tom Sawyer did come and see him for short visits though. It was through him that he had related that Mrs. Harker had not recently come out of her room. She had been spending the majority of her time in there. In a brush with Tom Sawyer, she gave her reason for being confined to her room so much was 'her experiments'. Inwardly, he suspected that she was still reeling from the betrayal of Dorian Grey and her fight with him that led to his death.

A knock at the door pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Come in", Skinner said without hesitation. Whoever it was, he would be glad for some company. It most likely wasn't the Doctor because he wasn't due quite yet.

To his pleasant surprise, it was the young American agent. It was even more of a pleasant surprise when he was what the visitor was carrying; a large carafe of brandy. The gentleman thief let a smile slip from his mouth. Agent Sawyer closed the door quietly behind him and made his way to the lone wicker chair situated near the bed of Mr. Skinner.

"Ah, just though I'd come for a visit. I wasn't doing anything important, so I figured I'd come to see you", Agent Sawyer said.

"Yeah? Well I welcome any visit, especially if it involves the contents of that carafe", Skinner said gesturing with what limited mobility he had towards the glass container.

Agent Sawyer took the time to fetch two small glasses stored neatly away on a shelf. The smile on Skinner's face grew larger. "I saw this here bottle of brandy and I thought of you. I've been meaning to come to see 'ya anyways", Sawyer said as he poured the brandy into the two glasses.

"Well, thanks mate. You're just what the doctor ordered. But, just don't tell him that though. Unless he makes an unscheduled visit, we should be okay. 'enry is a real stickler to proper procedure", Skinner said as he accepted the glass from Sawyer.

"So.... I'd ask what's new but you can't exactly do many things", said Sawyer.

"You got that right. I did manage to scare one of those German kids. Yesterday, the little scamp and his mates were peeking into my room. I saws them and laid perfectly still. The doc' had just changed my bandages and had stepped out of the room for a moment. He had left my right arm used bandage on top of my chest next to my left arm. Heh, it looked like I was sitting there cross armed like some Egyptian mummy. That little boy then came over, on a bet I suppose. Was he ever surprised when I reached out with my right arm that was not really on my chest. He let out this yelp and took off running. The other boys were on the other side of the door and wouldn't let him out. Theys kept sayin', "Sag das zaberwort!", whatever that means. Finally, they let that scared one out and were laughing", Skinner answered while talking a liberal swallow of his drink.

"I bet you gave that kid an awful fright", replied Sawyer.

"Well, there's not much to do for entertainment 'round here. I've got to seize the opportunity while it's there. Besides, those kids aren't going to be around for long. We're almost to Germany, aren't we?", Skinner asked.

"Yeah, Captain said within the next day we should be there. I had gotten used to having so many people aboard the ship. Makes the place seem lively", Sawyer answered while taking a small swig of his drink.

"Busyness keeps us occupied, occupied keeps us from thinking, thinking keeps us from brooding. I wish I had more busyness about now...", Skinner stated looking intently into the brown liquid that was in the clear glass.

A silent moment passed between the two till Sawyer cleared his throat.

"I........ I know what you mean. I've been trying to keep working in anyway I can. Just being a grunt working on repairing the ship has been taking up most of my time. I don't want to stop and think really. Stopping makes me go back to Mongolia. What happened to you and Quatermain.... I... I wish it could have been different", said Sawyer before he downed the rest of his brandy in a single gulp.

A lump formed in Skinner's throat. He knew what had transpired in Mongolia was eating Sawyer alive. The boy had lived and came through relatively unscathed, while the person he was starting to see as his mentor was murdered and he himself had been injured, while not initially fatal, could have easily developed to that point because of infection. He genuinely felt really bad about what the spy was going through. Sympathy was something he hadn't felt in a long time.


End file.
